Music FridayLive!

Internationally known Electro-Dance Pop artist, Kim Cameron has been building a name for herself since 2008 when she released her first album Contradictions. Her tracks have been featured on Billboard’s Dance Club,  the Starfleet Dance Chart, and the DJ Times Dance Chart among others. Her album No Regrets generated a n indie record of 5 charting singles and her music videos have garnered over 2 million views and won awards from film festivals from LA to Switzerland as well as the Global Music Awards. She has toured the world, performed for the NFL, and won Best Emerging Female Artist of the Year at the 2017 Indie Music Channel Awards. And she writes children’s books! She recently released her Greatest Hits album featuring 11 of her highest charting singles which demonstrate her passion in “telling stories through music.”

Nashville blues artist Tammie Shannon has come full circle through being a young touring artist, wife, mom, business owner and now back to a full-time recording and performing musician. After teaming up with Grammy-nominated producer Kent Wells, Shannon shares the good, the bad and the ugly of a tumultuous life through her new blues album, All of Me. Growing up in northeast Arkansas just outside of Memphis with a family singing and playing classical, blues, Christian, country and R&B, Tammie started singing in her church and later joined a local band that toured as the opener for R&B/soul legend, Percy Sledge. But several years of setbacks, including a vocal cord injury sidelined her from music until  her duaghter inspired her to rebuild her voice and sing again. All of Me is heavily influenced by Aretha Franklin, Bonnie Raitt and Etta James, and in it, Tammie tells her story of survival and empowerment.

Sean Ardoin is a fourth-generation Creole accordion whiz with a serious pedigree in Louisiana’s Creole tradition but with musical ideas of his own. He jumps out of out of the traditional box and create new music, influence by the likes of Earth Wind and Fire and Kiss to Fishbone and Bob Marley, which he listened to as a kid, along with the old-school music. He is a guardian of the Creole culture, but a new genre innovator too. Ardoin calls the new genre, Kreole Rock and Soul, a roots-based sound that embraces and incorporates contemporary pop and classic rock. He lays it down on Kreole Rock and Soul to be released September 14, an album he has filled with tasty accordion licks, catchy songs, and a brash, upbeat attitude that inspires as it persuades you to get up and dance.

British music producer and singer Mark Kingswood has performed thousands of times around the world for over the decade. His original songscover everthing  from love, to family, to the  challenges just living. His personal musical style is inspired by the great crooners of the last century, but he reinvents this timeless musical genre for today's ears and performs it with a confident stage presence born of years of experience while retaining his fiery youthful energy. With a vocal range that extends over several octaves, a distinctive voice and the deep, rich sound of a live orchestra plus his British charm, he brings a fun, young and modern twist to big band and jazz music.

Rob Bonfiglio is a guitarist, songwriter, producer, and musical director who first gained national prominence in the mid ‘90s as a founding member of RCA recording act Wanderlust. He scored a radio hit on the Billboard charts with "I Walked" and landed prime opening gigs for The Who, Collective Soul and others. Since relocating to Los Angeles in 2001, Rob has become a critically acclaimed solo artist with 4 solo albums to date, and his fifth, Trouble Again, has just been released. Rob also tours with and the musical director for multi-platinum selling pop group Wilson Phillips and produced their most recent album, Dedicated.  Rob also plays with other L.A. based artists and his songs are heard in television, commercials, and films, including Disney’s 2008 release, Bridge to Terabithia.

El Feeling is a Los Angeles-based band founded in 2016 that mixes Latino folk rhythms with alternative style influenced by rock and pop, using folk instruments such as accordion, guitar, tambora and flute de millo, and electronic elements. Members of El Feeling  -- Carolina Cobo, Carlos Hernan-Ch, Sergio Aldana, Diego Torres-Cantu, and Marco Echeverría -- come from Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico, blending their home nation sounds, cultures and rhythms into a fusion of musical ideas that resonates with any audience.  El Feeling are Rock & Roll flavored with Latin spice and  a style that can go beyond the Latin audience. Although their lyrics are in Spanish in in the future may also be in English .Their latest song, #Parrapa,  is cumbia rock with a little rumba, and designed to make people get up and dance. (photos by Mariangela and Juan Nader)

Sterling Infinity combines electronic soul and synth rock Sterling began in gospel music where his songwriting abilities and extraordinary vocal range won the attention of gospel critics and the adulation of audiences. Soon he was singing not only at church venues, but also at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Avery Fisher, and the Jacob Javits Center. Back then he was as well known for his voice as he was for his flamboyant stage persona.   He incorporates his deep sexual convictions and naked passion into his music, with dance beats that keep clubs moving until the wee hours.  Sterling Infinity recently dropped his second music video #XWeveLanded - Soul Raptured to accompany his Ep, Sterling Infinity - The Infinite One Has Landed.

The electric-pop band Karmic is comprised of vocalists Laura Baruch and Kylee Katch,  and features producers Samuel Murphy and Peter Kastner of Bad Owl Records. Known for bending sounds and toeing the genre line. their music blends electro-dance beats and hooky pop melodies, infused with a fearless point-of-view.   Their wildly energetic music, like their brand new single, "Warriors," a quintessential female forward pop track that is both inspiring and determined, and like all their music, demands positive change. Their unique sound has taken them across the U.S. and Europe, including a recent stint in Germany and frequent performances at SoFar Sounds LA and Resident DTLA.

Atlanta-based Alexandra Jackson is a classically trained pianist, whose heart and talent has turned to bossa nova, jazz and the Latin beats. She comes by her talent and her heart honestly: her grand aunt was Mattiwilda Dobbs, the African American coloratura soprano who was one of the first black singers to enjoy a major international career in opera and as the daughter of Atlanta’s first Black major, her household was filled with the music of Miles Davis, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Michael Jackson, as well as that of Johnny Hartman, Luciano Pavarotti, and Antonio Carlos Jobim.  Alexandra studied Jazz at the University of Miami, where she was exposed to Brazilian Jazz and performed  with Latin bands and Brazilian ensembles and later in Jazz festivals in the U.S. and in Europe. Her debut project: Alexandra Jackson: Legacy & Alchemy channels  her musical loves and experiences: Brazilian Music, American Jazz & Soul, NeoSoul, and London Soul Jazz for contemporary audiences worldwide.

Jenny and the Mexicats was formed 10 years ago in Madrid Spain by an English woman, two Mexicans and a Spaniard, fusing nationalities and personalities. Jenny, a professional trumpeter, linked with Icho, who played double bass, Pantera a guitarist, who loves punk bands and had played  with Icho for many years in Mexico. Pantera then introduced the band to Spanish cajon player David from the world of flamenco. The first album, the bilingual Gold Medal-winning  Jenny And The Mexicats was released in 2011, they moved to Mexico City in 2012, and in 2014 they released their second album, OME.  From then on Jenny and the Mexicats  became known on three continents for  a musical combination that mixes rhythms of jazz, rockabilly, folk, flamenco, reggae, "veracruzano", country and cumbia.

Alezzandra uses her music, her body, her visual talent, and her mind to deliver messages that are sophisticated, yet simple and powerful. Born and raised in Sweden with a Serbian background and now living in LA, Alezzandra is an international recording artist and a producer who  creates a  female empowerment narrative through razor sharp lyrics, hypnotic rhythms, poetry,  and provocative eroticism.   And she delivers it all with a voice that knows few equals.   Alezzandra’s music unfurls her deepest secrets and darkest fantasies, peeling painful, sensual layers away in her full video EP, The Black Rose. ? Her songs B ad Woman is a masterpiece of provocative melody and lyrics.  She is truly a Bad Girl in Heaven and A Good Girl in Hell.  Which is why she won the LA Music Critic Award for early 2018 for Best Ep, Female.

Raised and rooted in Corpus Christi, Texas, producer, DJ, and nu-cumbia pioneer El Dusty translates the Southern Texas border experience into new barrio anthems. His self-taught approach, drawing from a crate digging and a turntablist tradition links Latin classics with the new generation of bass-heavy soundsystem and hip-hop cultures. Critical acclaim has hailed El Dusty as Rolling Stone’s 10 New Artists You Need to Know and a  Grammy nomination came last year.  He is in demand at venues across the country for live gigs and collaborative projects with new wave Latin artists like Ana Ba´rbara, Toy Selectah, Erick Rinco´n of 3BallMTY, MLKMN, DJ Buddha, and more.  Without a doubt, El Dusty is one of the artists who will shape the future of music.

Giulia Millanta, is a Italian-born, Austin- based Singer-songwriter who has released multiple solo albums,  toured nationally throughout the USA and internationally throughout Europe and has both a new album and video out as of last week. An accomplished guitarist, Giulia also plays ukulele and sings in four languages. In 2010  she earned the  “New Sounds Of Acoustic Music” award in Europe and an endorsement by guitar makers Eko. She debuted  “Giulia and the Dizzyness”  in 2010, released “Dropping Down”  in 2011,  and “Dust and Desire”  in 2012. She broke new ground with “The Funambulist” and  “Moonbeam Parade”.  Last week she  released  Conversations with a Ghost after returning from her latest European tour.

Victoria Ginty and her Tampa-based Ladyhawke band fuse swampy Blues, R&B, Soul, and Americana in original compositions and covers. Victoria has had  #1 records on worldwide charts, was nominated for "Singer Songwriter of the Year" and "Video of the Year",and is up for a LA Music Critics Award this year. Victoria and the band recently recorded their 1st CD, "Live at the Firehouse" and were featured on WPHX "The Phoenix" 101.9 FM radio in Florida. Their latest studio project, the 11-track  "Unfinished Business " was released in May of this year  to rave reviews.

 

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Johnny “Chops” Richardson lives in Austin, TX with his wife and their two Basset hounds, Reggie and Emmylou. He has been writing and performing music since his uncle gave him a battered acoustic guitar at age 16. Since 2002, Johnny has logged thousands of miles and 8 albums playing bass for The Randy Rogers Band.  Several of his tunes have made their way onto the bands albums, and his song “Last Last Chance” garnered a Texas music chart #1. In 2013  he released his first album as a solo artist, Sticks & Stones.  Next came  the eponymous "Johnny Chops & The Razors" and a second single and video, "Taking A Chance On Me".   On tour now, he plays with both bands.

Halo Circus is a bilingual alternative electronic rock duo based in Los Angeles, California, composed of vocalist Allison Iraheta and bassist Matthew Hager.  Formed in 2012 by Iraheta, a finalist on American Idol, the band began as a rock quartet belting out power songs carried by Iraheta’s huge voice. This year the band evolved into a futuristic electronic rock duo with English and Spanish lyrics laced with heavy social commentary and a way out there sound tht audiences are eating up around the country.  The duo’s recent album, Robots and Wranglers has been met with rave reviews and predictions of being an Album of the Year, following three nominations for LA Music Critic Awards.  They have just wrapped up a sold-out 30 city tour and are back home in Los Angeles.

Dr. Julia del Palacio is one of those remarkable people who can excel in three fields simultaneously, in her case history,  music,  and  arts administration.  She is an historian, a vocalist, a dancer, and an administrator on the staff of the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Brooklyn's Queens College.  She sings and dances as part of the NYC-based jarocho band Radio Jarocho with Zenen Zeferino and is bringing us their latest album, Rios Norte Y Sur.  Music unites all of her  endeavors, especially the  jarocho music from Veracruz and the zapeadado dance that she performs.  She is the perfect guide  to take us through the magic of jarocho music as it has taken root and evolved in the Estádos Unítos  and the music of Rios Norte y Sur album.

The Marías are the psychedelic-soul lovechild of LA native Josh Conway and Puerto Rican-bred, Atlanta-raised María Zardoya. Formed in Los Angeles in 2016, they deliver a smooth fusion of jazz percussion, hypnotic guitar riffs, smoke-velvet vocals and nostalgic horn solos in a sensual funk/ lounge environment they magically create on stage and in the studio.  With María on lead vocals and Josh on drums, the couple is joined by three of their closest friends and fellow musical commune members: Jesse Perlman on guitar;  Carter Lee on bass and Edward Jame on keys. Together they create seamless dance melodies that combine synthetic and analog tones, weaving in an old-school, vintage aesthetic with a progressive touch that mesmerizes crowds and flows in layered yet minimalist recordings.

Rob Morrow is an actor, director, tv star and a great guitar player.  He joins us with his  new single, "The New Face" and talk aboaut his appearance on the upcoming City of Hope telecast with his band the RMB.

Patricia Vonne is a multi-talented musician, actress, award winning filmmaker who has been  named SXSW best female vocalist twice.   She is releasing her seventh album Top of the Mountain May 25, 2018 on her label Bandolera Records, hot on the heels of her recent win at the Madrid International Film Festival for “Best Animation award” the music video for “Huerta de San Vicente,” from her Spanish album Viva Bandolera .  Her new release features special guest musicians Johnny Reno, Grammy award winner Max Baca, David Grissom, Grammy award winner Joe Reyes and many more.  A ninth-generation Tejana she embodies every indigenous musical style in Texas , and is an excellent singer songwriter as well as singer and multi-instrumentalist and band leader.

Twenty-six year old Andy Sydow know how to put sepia into a song.  He creates memories that you may have had, but you certainly feel.  A fixture on the l Colorado music scene since his days at the University of Colorado in Denver, he has opened for Tab Benoit and Delbert McClinton at the Gothic Theater, Anders Osborne at the Caribou Room and Dick Dale at the Bluebird Theater. He's also performed at the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Music Festival and been nominated for several awards for his piano playing and songwriting by the Colorado Blues Society.  His fourth album, Reasons For Departure due out this month is  filled with richly detailed songwriting and melodies in the style of Jackson Browne, Jason Isbell, Dan Fogelberg and Jackie Greene…and his own sepia tones.